Background There is a dearth of information on the epidemiology of sports injuries in Nigeria.

Objective The study was aimed at documenting sports injuries sustained by Lagos state athletes during the 16th National Sports Festival and providing information on treatments offered to injured athletes.

Design Prospective descriptive study.

Setting The study was carried out at the Amadu Bello Stadium Complex, sporting arena of the Murtala Square and the team Lagos mini clinic.

Participants 132 accredited Lagos state athletes who at one point in time during the games required treatment from any of the members of the medical team.

Main outcome measurements Demographic data of athletes, type of injuries, body parts injured and treatment modalities used were recorded on pre-designed injury report forms and analysed using descriptive statistics.

Results A total of 140 sports injuries were recorded with an approximate male to female ratio of 2:1 and age ranging from 15 to 38 years. Most of the injuries reported by the athletes were ‘minor’ injuries. Muscle strain was the most common type of injury (31.4%) followed by ligament sprains (22.9%). The lower extremities were the most injured body region accounting for 50% of all injuries. Over 60% of injuries presented by the athletes were from basketball, cricket, hockey, rugby and baseball. Cryotherapy was the most frequently used treatment modality, followed by bandaging and massage with anti-inflammatory gels.

Conclusion Establishing injury prevention programmes directed at the lower extremities may help reduce the risk of injuries to the lower extremities. It is recommended that cryotherapy should be made abundantly available to the medical team preferably in forms of portable cold sprays for easy transportation and application during the games. This data provides information that will be useful to both state and federal medical teams in preparing for future games.